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Description:
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India in the mid-19th century was under the rule of the British East India Company. The Company's army was largely Indian, commanded by British officers who were often authoritarian and ill informed about local culture. There was significant resentment in local population against foreign rule that surfaced every now and then. The annexation of Oudh in violation of an existing treaty had alienated the company soldiers. In this charged environment, the last straw came in the form of rumors that the new cartridges issued to the army were laced with pig and cow fat. Soldiers needed to tear these cartridges with their teeth before loading rifles. Since the Hindus revered the cow and Muslims considered pigs unclean the news inflamed soldiers of both communities. An open rebellion followed. The first shots were fired by Mangal Pande, a quiet man of the lower ranks. His action started a revolt that grew into an India-wide uprising. Though it did not end colonial rule, it ended the rule of the East India Company. Indians in later years remembered the events of 1857 as the 'First War of Independence' and Mangal Pande, its acclaimed hero.
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